Divorce Out of Love: A Sixteenth-Century Woman’s Story

In this article we will closely read a responsum, written by the great posek Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra (known as the Radbaz, Spain–Eretz Israel, c. 1479–1573), that revolves around the plight of a woman in Jerusalem around the turn of the sixteenth century. Her husband has disappeared, but he had sent her a get, by messenger. This document unfortunately was lost when she fled following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Our exploration of the responsum sheds light on a facet of divorce that is not commonly considered today. Divorce is not only a legal procedure for terminating a marriage mired in discontent, but it was also routinely employed to avoid ‘igun or widowhood, evidence that the Jewish legal system is subject to creative compliance.